Two of the Teach for America instructors were white, and the other two were Asian.

All four had just graduated from Harvard. They were young, in their early 20s, and had plenty to share about their lives.

For Hector Galindo, who was growing up in
Raymondville, having these four young teachers in the sixth, seventh and
eighth grades opened his eyes to a larger world.

“Their life experiences were completely different
from ours, in terms of income, quality of education, the access that
they had,” said Galindo, 27, who went on to become a Teach for America
instructor himself.

Galindo, who now teaches at Rising Scholars
Academy of South Texas in San Benito, has remained involved with Teach
for America the past six years while promoting the STEM professions.
STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

Galindo has now been asked to speak at the Teach
for America’s 25th Anniversary Summit in Washington, D.C. this weekend.
He will speak at the “Building Robust Networks to Support Diversity,
Equity and Access in STEM and Computer Science Education” sub session.